Food & Cooking Recipes Dessert & Treats Recipes Peach Crumble 3.8 (514) 14 Reviews This easy dessert is the perfect way to enjoy peak-season peaches. By Sarah Carey Sarah Carey Sarah is the food content director for Martha Stewart Brand and a freelance food editor, recipe developer, and food stylist working in NYC. Previously she was the food director for Martha Stewart Living magazine, and the editor-in-chief of Everyday Food. You can see her thousands of fun and informative cooking videos on the Everyday Food YouTube channel. Editorial Guidelines Updated on May 16, 2024 Rate PRINT Share Prep Time: 15 mins Cook Time: 50 mins Total Time: 1 hr 15 mins Servings: 8 Perfect for potlucks, BBQs, and family dinners, peach crumble is one of the easiest summer fruit desserts to make. It's sublime served with vanilla ice cream—or crème fraîche if you prefer a less sweet accompaniment. If you’re not familiar with crumbles, they're a relative of crisps and cobblers. A simple crumb topping of butter, light brown sugar, and flour goes over sliced fresh peaches (or nectarines) that have been tossed with sugar, lemon juice, and a touch of cornstarch to thicken the juices. The best part is, you don’t need to be an expert baker to ace peach crumble as it doesn't rise and doesn't fall—it bakes just fine if the oven is a little hotter or cooler than the recipe specifies. It's Stone Fruit Season: Here's How to Enjoy Peaches, Plums, and More This Summer Grant Webster The Peaches Peach crumble is an easy way to showcase summer peaches. The peaches should be ripe, but they don’t need to be perfect because you’re slicing and baking them into a jammy filling. If you want to make peach crumble outside of peach season, opt for thawed and drained frozen peaches rather than out-of-season fresh fruit which tends to have less flavor. Other Fruits to Use Nectarines are an easy swap for peaches in this recipe and have a similar juicy, sweet flavor and aroma. You can also substitute an equal amount of fresh apricots. Skin-on Fruit We don’t peel the peaches when we make this crumble because we don’t think you need to. Not peeling the fruit saves time, as to peel the peaches you’d need to blanch them in hot water to loosen their skins. The Crumble Crumble topping is so easy to make and forgiving to bake. All you need is all-purpose flour, light-brown sugar, unsalted butter, and salt. Mixed together, they create a crumbly, clumpy topping that bakes up toasty and buttery. Make Ahead To cut down on day-of prep work, you can make the topping ahead of time. After mixing the ingredients together, refrigerate the topping for up to 2 days, or freeze it for up to 3 months. Since the topping freezes well, we suggest making a double batch and saving half for another day. Baking Peach Crumble Our peach crumble recipe bakes at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for about 40 minutes. You can see when a crumble is baked because the topping will be golden brown and the fruit filling bubbling around the edges. If the crumble starts to brown before the fruit filling is cooked, cover the dish loosely with foil so the dessert continues to bake but the topping won’t take on more color. (This technique is called tenting.) Ingredients For the Filling 2 pounds peaches or nectarines, cut into ½-inch wedges (6 cups) ¾ cup granulated sugar 1 tablespoon lemon juice 4 teaspoons cornstarch ½ teaspoon coarse salt For the Topping 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature ¼ cup light-brown sugar 1 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled) ½ teaspoon coarse salt Directions Grant Webster Preheat oven and make filling: Preheat oven to 375°F. Make the filling: Combine peaches, granulated sugar, lemon juice, cornstarch, and salt. Grant Webster Add filling to baking dish: Transfer filling to an 8-inch square baking dish. Grant Webster Beat butter and sugar for topping: In a large bowl, using a mixer, beat butter and brown sugar on medium until light and fluffy. Grant Webster Grant Webster Add flour and salt and mix: Add flour and salt and, with your hands, mix until large pieces form. Grant Webster Scatter over filling: Scatter topping over filling. Grant Webster Bake: Bake until center is bubbling, 40 to 50 minutes, covering baking dish loosely with foil if topping is browning too quickly. Let cool 20 minutes before serving. Grant Webster Variation For Peach-Berry Crumble: Add a cup of raspberries or blueberries to the peaches. How to Store Leftover Peach Crumble If you have leftovers, make sure they are completely cool before covering with plastic wrap and refrigerating. Crumble will last for three days, but you may notice the topping gets softer the longer it sits. More Easy Fruit Crumble Recipes to Try: Apple Crumble Blueberry Crumble Apple-Cranberry Crumble Sour-Cherry Crumble Bars Coconut-Lime-Crumble Blueberry Pie Frequently Asked Questions What is the difference between a peach crumble and a peach cobbler? Both are baked fruit desserts with a peach filling. Crumble has a simple streusel-like topping made with butter, flour, and sugar. A cobbler has a biscuit dough topping, sometimes with carefully cut-out biscuits, but usually it's more homey with the biscuit dough dropped in spoonfuls over the filling. What is the difference between a crumble and a streusel? Crumble and streusel are both made with butter, sugar, and flour and are very similar. How they are used is different: Crumble is added in a solid layer over a fruit filling for the baked fruit dessert known as a crumble, whereas streusel is scattered over a coffee cake, muffin, or pie before baking. Is melted or cold butter better for a crumble? The butter for a crumble should not be melted. It should be removed from the refrigerator and allowed to come to room temperature so it will mix better and more quickly when combined with the sugar. Originally appeared: Everyday Food, July/August 2012 Rate It PRINT Updated by Victoria Spencer Victoria Spencer Victoria Spencer is an experienced food editor, writer, and recipe developer. She manages the Martha Stewart recipe archive and is always curious about new ingredients and the best techniques. She has been working in food media for over 20 years. and Esther Reynolds Esther Reynolds Esther Reynolds is an experienced recipe developer, recipe tester, food editor, and freelance writer with over a decade of experience in the food and media industries.